... I am
> tuning an Ashiko
> arox 40" tall 13.5 head, and 7.5 exhaust...I have
> gone pretty tight
> with a wince on my face each pull, thinking that the
> ringing will go
> pass....
> mike

Mike, I don't have the room for the equipment to build
ashikos so I don't know about the measurements you
supplied. The Drum Calc online might answer the
question as to whether the drum was built with optimum
dimensions. It does sound like a pretty big drum
however.

I have only once been able to get all or almost all
of the ring out of an ashiko I reheaded as opposed to
djembes. They are, after all, a different drum and
those I have heard have all been a bit ringy-er than
djembes. I am wondering if others on the line have had
the same experience with them.

Among other things that might contribute is ring
sizing. I have seen a lot of ashikos that have enough
room under the top rings to be able to curl your
fingers under the ring and carry the drum that way.
The tighter the rings under/over which the skin
passes, the better the sound.

Finally, as with any drum, sometimes the mate between
skin and drum just doesn't work out. My Senegalese
friend Ibrahima can pass his hand over a stack of
hides and pretty much pick the right one for the
particular drum on which he is working. I wish I could
but I may never be there. I tend to try to get heavy
skins and, if necessary, sand them until they sound
right.

Four years ago a friend, Lisa, who, I think, is no
longer on this line, and I taught drumming together.
She had an incredible sounding Dimba drum and was
experienced at building drums. The Dimba djembe head
broke a few weeks later while she was relocating, and
she replaced it-three times-then wrote in to this line
for help. While each of the heads sounded different,
all three rang to a greater or lesser extent. She
wrote in desperation but had already tried all of the
solutions offered. Finally she did get the sound for
which she was looking, and the skins she had tried but
that did not work well were used on other drums on
which they were fine.

Do the ashkio makers out there have any useful info?

Beverly

=====
Walk in beauty on your path.



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